I would firstly like to state my views on culture. I believe in cultural relativity: the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual. In other words I believe that all religious, ethical and political beliefs are completely relative to the individual in a cultural identity. Moral values vary from culture to culture and this must first be understood before a step towards understanding another culture can be taken. Once one is released of ethnocentric bias, they can then begin to view a culture not based on their moral backgrounds or upbringing, but instead by the culture’s point of view. I feel that this release of prejudice is a very important first step in order to understand some of the deeper rooted issues and conflicts of the world. Complete ignorance of a culture’s roots, beliefs, and traditions can be a very grave mistake when attempting to comprehend the reasoning behind some of the current crises occurring throughout the world. Although peace is a very pleasing substitute, it does not simply lace through whole societies in the matter of a few months. It’s a delicate process that can take years and if not handled as such, can simply enflare current conflicts even more. A solid basis of knowledge must first be obtained about the history of conflicts before plans for change to even begin to occur, for if change is rushed into blindly, it can literally be catastrophic to a culture.
Judging a culture’s actions from a perspective influenced by one’s own culture and its’ norms further widens the gap between culture. Too often are subcultures formed out of stereotypes, titling whole groups of people for either a minor or major aspect of their culture, but regardless of how much of a roll the aspect may play, it is not accurately descriptive or representative of the culture as a whole. Many times cultural beliefs are misrepresented or presented in a way that suggests superiority. I’ll extend upon these points at a later time.
Tags: conflicts, cultural relativity, culture, current issues, equality, ethnocentrism, history, individual, influence, international issues, moral values, politics, religion, roots, stereotypes, subculture, upbringing
